The present application relates to a method for adjusting the position of elements of a structure of an aircraft, and to a device for implementing this method.
An aircraft fuselage comprises, on one hand, a primary structure which comprises stiffeners such as frames and stringers and a skin that is attached to the stiffeners and, on the other hand, a secondary structure which comprises walls, partitions, storage bins or other elements which are connected to the primary structure. To that end, the primary structure comprises supports to which the various parts of the secondary structure are attached. In order that the parts of the secondary structure are correctly positioned in the fuselage, it is necessary for the supports themselves to be correctly positioned. Thus, each support must occupy an actual position, in an aircraft reference frame, that matches a theoretical position determined during design of the aircraft.
However, after assembly of the primary structure, certain supports occupy an actual position, in the aircraft reference frame, that differs from the theoretical position. Consequently, the process of assembling an aircraft comprises at least one phase of adjusting the position of these supports in order to bring the actual position of each one into line with the theoretical position.
According to one known approach, a measurement device of the laser tracker type is positioned in the fuselage, more particularly in a service platform, at the rear of the fuselage. This laser tracker is configured to measure the actual position of each element in the aircraft reference frame. Each element is scanned to determine its actual position in the airplane reference frame and, if the measured actual position is not in accordance with the theoretical position, the position of the measured element is corrected using the values provided by the laser tracker. Thus, the steps of measuring the actual position and adjusting the position are carried out using the same measurement device and are repeated for each structural element.
As a result, this adjustment phase is relatively long, greater than 10 hours, which affects the rhythm of aircraft assembly.
In order to reduce the duration of this adjustment phase, one solution involves using two laser trackers positioned at either end of the fuselage segment in order to split the fuselage segment into two working areas, with an operator working in each area. Thus, a first operator adjusts the position of certain elements with a first laser tracker while a second operator adjusts the position of other elements with a second laser tracker.
This solution is not satisfactory as it requires the use of two laser trackers, which are instruments that require very stable operating conditions. In particular, it is necessary for there to be no vibration in the working area during adjustment. Moreover, using two laser trackers is a solution that is not simple to implement, in particular at the boundary between the working areas. Finally, as above, each operator must successively measure and possibly correct the position of each structural element.
The present invention aims to remedy the drawbacks of the prior art.